December 5 (BTA) - The Council of Ministers Wednesday decided that Bulgaria will refrain from joining the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Government Information Service (GIS) said.

Bulgaria will not have official representatives to the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact, scheduled to take place in Marrakech on December 10 and 11. The Cabinet also decided that this country's Permanent Representative to the UN will abstain when the UN General Assembly puts to the vote a resolution endorsing the adopted Global Compact.

A more effective management of migration processes is of major importance to Bulgaria, the GIS said. At this stage the Bulgarian Government believes that the decision against joining the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration protects the interests of the country and its citizens in the best possible way.

Bulgaria will remain committed to its existing international law obligations concerning human rights and to maintaining strict national border control. RY/DD